A Private Function

R

1984

1 hr. 33 min.

Comedy

List

90%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Charles Swaby (Denholm Elliott), accountant Henry Allardyce (Richard Griffiths) and solicitor Frank Lockwood (John Normington) are fattening a black-market pig for the big day. Egged on by his wife (Maggie Smith), meek Gilbert Chilvers (Michael Palin) steals the swine, but the couple must conceal it from inspector Morris Wormold (Bill Paterson).

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Jimmy P

Simply hilarious. If you like Michael Palin and Maggie Smith and British films then you will love this film. If not you won't. Set in post war Britain when rationing was still in full swing. I remember my Dad telling me the first time he saw a banana he was ten years old and ate it skin and all. He didn't know he was supposed to peel it. A little glimpse to hard, sometimes cruel times, but very funny.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/23/23

Full Review

Stephen W

Put it like this, if your an animal lover and /or vegetarian....DON'T WATCH THIS! lots of scenes of carrying pig carcasses about, crewd scenes in a butchers shop, mentioning of killing that pig by throat cutting, Then near the end a big mallet lined up to his head, people in the house going around after the pig to cut it's throat , and then it is killed, not shown, but the films atmosphere makes it feel real...... I should have stopped watching it! NOT for sensitive animal lovers........

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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isla s

This is a quite amusing British farce style film, set shortly after the 2nd World War. Its a bit surreal as it features Michael Palin under pressure to kill a pig and Maggie Smith being a typical English lady of the somewhat upper class. The dialogue is quite humorous and it looked like the kind of film that would do well on stage, indeed its based on a story by Alan Bennett. If you like this sort of film then you should definitely check it out, so yes, I would recommend it - the talk of the smell that various people in the house reported and the main characters had to downplay, made me laugh.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

***BRITISH CAPER COMEDY RECIPE: 1-PART "BABE" AND 1-PART "A FISH CALLED WANDA"***

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

I remember seeing this film when it was first aired in the height of Thatcherism. Although it was notionally about food rationing in the aftermath of the War, in fact I found it a devastating critique of Thatcherite policies at a time when Thatcher could do no wrong. In the same way that Ken Loach was largely prevented from making movies in the 80's, so this film was buried by the establishment because it highlighted the rampant greed, a nasty side of the British character, that Thatcherism had unleashed. As with The Madness of King George, where the question asked is how to get rid of a monarch gone mad, so in Private Function Bennett is dealing with a very contemporary issue. It is a much better film that it was allowed to be.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

They claimed this was a comedy, but it was not funny at all and I had a hard time trying to figure out what this film was even about. I get their was a ban on pork, so all these people are hiding their own private pigs to eat, but I guess I never understood why it was such a crime. A nice cast, but a story that goes nowhere. Like why does the inspector just ignore them in the end after being such a dick the entire time? Add in the films just ends in a random spot. It just wasn't very good.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Malcolm Mowbray

Director

Michael Palin

Gilbert Chilvers

Maggie Smith

Joyce Chilvers

Denholm Elliott

Dr. Charles Swaby

Liz Smith

Joyce's Mother

Richard Griffiths

Henry Allardyce the Accountant

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Chris Bennion

Times (UK)

It’s brilliantly funny.

Nov 16, 2022

Full Review

Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

"A Private Function" is an amusing farce in the tradition of old Ealing studio comedies like "The Lavender Hill Mob," and like those movies, it never quite ignites.

Jan 4, 2018

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Director Malcolm Mowbray neatly orchestrates the resulting drama and points up the class antagonisms at play.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

J.A. Conner

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Alternating between slapstick satire and black comedy, A Private Function is full meal of comic study and insight.

Mar 8, 2019

Full Review

Amber Wilkinson

Eye for Film

Bennett's script gently mocks his characters, while also maintaining a level of understanding.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 17, 2017

Full Review

Scott Nash

Three Movie Buffs

A gentle and amusing, very English comedy.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 26, 2013

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Synopsis

In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Charles Swaby (Denholm Elliott), accountant Henry Allardyce (Richard Griffiths) and solicitor Frank Lockwood (John Normington) are fattening a black-market pig for the big day. Egged on by his wife (Maggie Smith), meek Gilbert Chilvers (Michael Palin) steals the swine, but the couple must conceal it from inspector Morris Wormold (Bill Paterson).

Director: Malcolm Mowbray
Executive Producer: George Harrison, Denis O'Brien
Screenwriter: Alan Bennett, Malcolm Mowbray
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (DVD): Feb 8, 2011